"…Makoto-kun?"
Seeing Kitahara suddenly stand up, Mutsumi lifted her pretty face, casting an inquiring gaze.
"Hoo…"
Kitahara took a deep breath, quickly calming himself down.
"Calm down!"
"In times of great affairs, one must be calm. The more critical the moment, the more calmness is needed!"
"Just now, without a doubt, the [Foresee Future] ability was triggered. Those scenes I saw won't happen immediately, so now I need to contact Anon as soon as possible…"
Having finished his thoughts, Kitahara comforted Mutsumi, then quickly took out his phone and dialed Anon's number.
Unfortunately, he dialed twice, but both calls went unanswered.
Immediately after, Kitahara sent several messages, but the messages also showed as unread.
Kitahara frowned tightly, the sense of urgency in his heart growing stronger. He quickly took out the answer book.
Fortunately, he hadn't used his questioning opportunity today, and it came in handy now.
"When exactly will the scene I just saw from foreseeing the future happen?"
Whoosh.
The answer book flipped pages rapidly without wind.
"It's not difficult to find Anon's exact location. This is a networked society; personal whereabouts can be checked anytime, anywhere. I just need to ask the exclusive liaison officer…"
Kitahara's idea was simple.
After finding out the time the foretold scene would occur, he would immediately call the exclusive liaison officer, ask her for Anon's location, and then rush over.
Of course, the premise of this approach was that the time difference was large enough. If the time difference was very small…
A line of numbers quietly appeared on the blank page.
Seeing the time given by the answer book, Kitahara's brows immediately furrowed together.
"The time difference is only five minutes?"
"In other words… the fire has already broken out?!"
Kitahara took a deep breath:
"Steady, don't panic!"
"At least there are still five minutes left!"
"…"
To prevent tension and worry from affecting his thinking, Kitahara decisively entered Sage Time, allowing his brain to quickly calm down.
"Five minutes of rescue time. Conventional transportation definitely won't make it in time. The only way to reach Anon in time is Hana-chan's quick travel…"
"Quick travel requires an anchor point."
"Anon can't be contacted right now, so I need to choose someone else as an anchor point, for example… Anon's friend!"
In his Sage state, Kitahara's thoughts were exceptionally clear.
"When I messaged her at noon, Anon said she was celebrating a friend's birthday, so she must be with a friend…"
"Found it!"
Kitahara searched the images in his mind and quickly found a familiar figure.
It was a short-haired, dark-skinned girl who looked like a gyaru, Karin.
When Anon and her middle school friends held a psychic game gathering and accidentally encountered something dirty, during the exorcism, Karin was in Kamakura at the time and couldn't make it. As a result, the curse was too deep, and she fell into a coma. Kitahara and Anon even went to Kamakura together to treat her.
In the fleeting corner of the foretold scene, a disheveled Karin tried to rush into the raging inferno of the building but was stopped by the police maintaining order…
Kitahara quickly took out the answer book, handed it to Mutsumi, and said with a serious expression:
"Mutsumi-chan, help me ask a question… How can I contact Karin-san?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Kitahara immediately described the relationship between Karin and Anon again, to avoid any confusion.
"Leave it to me."
Mutsumi nodded seriously, took the answer book, and asked the question.
Before long, a line of text quietly appeared.
"Just call directly?"
Kitahara was slightly surprised, not expecting the method to be so simple.
"Although I don't have Karin-san's contact number, it's not difficult…"
Kitahara's mind raced, and he thought of Hitori.
The only girl who was 100% confirmed to be at home was Hitori.
"Hana-chan, come with me."
Kitahara called Hana, and they quickly traveled to Hitori's house.
"Eh, Kitahara-kun?"
Hitori was practicing guitar and couldn't help but open her eyes wide in curiosity when Kitahara suddenly appeared.
"No time to explain." Kitahara directly handed over the answer book, "Hitori, help me ask a question."
"Mhm, mhm."
Hitori nodded obediently.
Although she didn't know what was happening, seeing Kitahara so anxious, it was clearly a very important matter.
Whoosh.
The answer book flipped pages without wind.
A line of numbers quietly appeared, which was a phone number.
Kitahara decisively took out his phone, quickly sent a message explaining his identity, and then dialed the number.
The first call didn't go through. Kitahara composed himself and continued to dial. The second call finally connected.
"Karin-san, I'm Kitahara."
Kitahara quickly introduced himself.
"Is, is it really Kitahara-kun?"
The voice on the other end of the phone was tearful, accompanied by clearly audible sounds of chaotic running and cries for help:
"We were singing at KTV, and then, suddenly, there was a fire… Anon-chan disappeared in a blink of an eye, I…"
"I already know the situation," Kitahara said in a deep voice. "Karin-san, find a place with a mirror, then continuously chant the name Hana in your heart. I'll go save Anon."
"Don't ask why, just do as I say."
"I, I understand…"
"…"
Karin didn't falter at the critical moment. Soon after, Hana looked up with a blank expression and said:
"Someone is calling me."
"Let's go."
Kitahara simply picked up Hana and walked to the mirror:
"Hitori, I'll explain when I get back."
"Ah…"
Watching Kitahara quickly disappear into the mirror, Hitori's curiosity exploded, and she couldn't calm down to play her guitar at all.
At the same time.
Inside the KTV, where flames raged and hot waves pressed in.
"Kitahara-kun, you…"
Looking at Kitahara walking out of the mirror, Karin was utterly shocked and dumbfounded.
"We'll talk later."
Kitahara's gaze swept around, finding himself in a bathroom.
The air was filled with a pungent smell of burning, and outside, chaotic cries and sirens intertwined, exceptionally harsh.
"Which floor is this?"
Kitahara asked in a deep voice.
"It's the second floor…"
Karin recovered, tearfully grasping Kitahara's right hand:
"Anon-chan is gone!"
"We were just singing when we suddenly heard the fire alarm. Everyone ran out of the private room and found that it was already super chaotic outside. Anon-chan was clearly behind me, but when I turned my head, she was gone…"
Kitahara, however, understood in his heart.
The reason Anon 'disappeared halfway' was most likely the backlash of bad luck after her luck state ended.
"Karin-san, I'll take you somewhere."
Kitahara pondered for a moment, then quickly made a decision, grasping Karin's right hand in return.
The next second.
Their figures flashed, and they arrived in the Onsen Village.
"Eh, eh, what is this place?"
Karin's eyes widened, her face full of confusion.
"I'll let Anon explain to you later," Kitahara said simply. "You stay here for now, it's absolutely safe. I'll go out to find Anon first. It might take a while, so don't worry."
After receiving his call, Karin was willing to risk the fire to run to the bathroom and complete the summoning ritual. She could truly be called a close friend, so Kitahara naturally had to ensure her safety.
Although in the future vision, Karin successfully escaped the building, due to his interference, the future had clearly changed. It was not guaranteed that Karin would not encounter an accident midway… So, taking her into the Onsen Village was more reassuring.
"I, I understand…"
Karin nodded nervously, feeling Kitahara was increasingly mysterious, and couldn't help but feel a little awe:
"Kitahara-kun, you must save Anon-chan!"
"Leave it to me."
Kitahara nodded slightly, and his figure flashed, disappearing.
"In the future vision, Anon's location was on the third floor…"
Returning to the bathroom, Kitahara didn't hesitate, rushing straight out.
This series of actions, though long in description, actually only took a short four minutes, with only one minute remaining until the time node.
"One minute… that's enough!"
Kitahara, like a whirlwind, quickly rushed through the flame-engulfed corridor, reaching the third floor in a few breaths.
Upon discovering the fire, most people chose to escape as quickly as possible, and the doors of the private rooms were mostly open.
"When we were eating lunch two days ago, everyone was chatting at the table, and Anon even complained about the safest way to deal with a fire…"
Kitahara transformed into a gust of wind, quickly sweeping past the open doors of the private rooms, his steps not pausing in the slightest.
It is well known that in fires, over ninety percent of victims actually suffocate from thick smoke, rather than being directly burned by flames.
When a building burns incompletely, it produces a large amount of toxic smoke and carbon monoxide. Once inhaled, humans will fall into a coma within a short period, and covering one's mouth and nose with a wet towel has little effect, unless you have a specialized gas mask.
Choosing to climb up the stairs is also very dangerous, but due to the chimney effect, thick smoke spreads much faster than human running speed. You can't outrun it, simply can't.
Therefore, when unexpectedly encountering a fire, the method with the highest survival rate is to hide inside a room and wait for rescue.
"We just chatted about it a few days ago, Anon must remember it very clearly, so Anon will most likely hide in a closed room…"
Kitahara lightning-fast arrived in front of a tightly closed door, unhesitatingly lifting his right foot and kicking it out.
Bang.
The door suddenly burst open.
Kitahara quickly entered the private room, his gaze sweeping around. After finding no one inside, he quickly moved to the next closed private room.
In a flash, he arrived at the entrance of the second private room, and Kitahara kicked out again.
Boom!
The door, already burning with flames, suddenly collapsed, followed by a frightened low cry.
"…Found her."
Kitahara's heart immediately settled.
Stepping into the private room, Kitahara's gaze swept around and he saw a pink-haired girl squatting in the corner, clutching her head with both hands, trembling. Who else could it be but Anon.
"Anon-chan, how should this life-saving grace be repaid?"
Kitahara let out a soft breath and asked with a smile.
"That sound just now was…"
Anon, in despair, suddenly stopped breathing, thinking she was hallucinating. She quickly looked up and saw the figure she most wanted to see standing at the private room door. She quickly raised her hand to wipe her misty eyes.
When her arm reached her face, Anon suddenly stopped again, afraid that if she wiped away the blurry tears, Kitahara at the private room door would disappear.
(I didn't even tell Kitahara-kun where I was singing, so Kitahara-kun definitely wouldn't know I encountered a fire…)
(There are still so many things I haven't had time to do, what a regret…)
(If Kitahara-kun could really appear now… of course, I'd give myself to him!)
(If I can survive, I must experience all those poses in the notebook!)
Crash.
A burnt section of the roof suddenly collapsed.
"It's, it's over…"
Anon closed her eyes in despair.
However, the expected pain did not come. Anon only felt herself being embraced in a warm hug.
That incredibly familiar heartbeat and scent instantly made Anon realize.
(It's not an illusion, it really is Kitahara-kun…!)
Anon opened her eyes excitedly and saw a burning piece of wood hit Kitahara's back.
Before Anon could speak, the next second, their figures vanished into thin air.
"Phew…"
Kitahara let out a soft breath. After entering the Onsen Village, they were completely safe. Anon's fate had finally been completely rewritten.
"Anon, you can come down now."
Looking at the pink-haired girl who had somehow clung to him like an octopus, Kitahara gently patted Anon's back to remind her.
"S-sorry…"
Anon looked up with teary eyes, unable to hold back the grievances in her heart. While sobbing, she actively leaned in for a kiss:
"I, I thought I would never see you again…"
Kitahara gently patted Anon's back and said softly:
"I told you before, as long as Anon encounters danger, no matter how far away, I will appear by Anon's side immediately."
"…Oh, right! Your back!"
Anon finally remembered the scene she had just seen and quickly jumped down from Kitahara's body:
"How is Kitahara-kun's back?"
Kitahara said softly:
"It's nothing, just a minor injury."
"How can it be nothing… Let me check quickly!"
"It's really nothing…"
Kitahara reluctantly turned around, letting Anon check.
"It's clearly red from the burn… Go rinse off! I'll help you scrub your back!"
Kitahara reminded her:
"Karin-san is still here."
"Eh?" Anon paused, then looked around. "Karin-chan is also in the Onsen Village? Why don't I see her?"
"The time flow difference between the real world and the Onsen Village is significant. She's definitely in the Onsen Village, she won't get lost…"
Kitahara nodded slightly, briefly explaining what had happened.
As he spoke, a short-haired dark skinned girl came running over, teary-eyed and extremely excited. It was Karin.
"Anon-chan, it's so good that you're okay!"